Title: Samson, a Type of Christ
Text: Judges 14: 12-14
Date: June 1, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Judges 14: 12: And Samson said unto them, I
will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within
the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: 13: But if ye cannot declare it
me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they
said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14: And he said unto
them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth
sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
We, who
believe, have come this morning, as always, to be put in remembrance of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Today,
we will do so especially at our Lord’s Table, as we partake of the bread and
wine which symbolize his broken body and shed blood.
Sometimes,
it helps believers to behold Christ in an Old Testament picture. So today I
would like for us to try to catch a glimpse of our Savior in Samson.
Proposal:
As we take an overview of Samson’s life that Sampson is a picture of Christ.
I. FIRST, WE BEHOLD
CHRIST IN SEVERAL DETAILS OF SAMSON’S BIRTH.
The Time
Judges 13: 1: And the children of Israel did
evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand
of the Philistines forty years.
Israel
was in bondage under the Philistines when Samson was born. Likewise, Christ
came forth, when Israel was in bondage under the Romans. In fact, God’s true spiritual Israel—all over
the world—did evil in the sight of God and was in bondage to sin and Satan. The
Gentile world was in idolatry and ignorance of God. The Jews were engaged in
mere formality.
The Angel of the LORD
Judges 13: 2: And there was a certain man of
Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was
barren, and bare not. 3: And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and
said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive,
and bear a son.
We see
an analogy of Christ in Samson’s mother and how the angel of the LORD foretold
of his birth. In like manner, Mary, the
mother of our Lord, was a virgin. The angel of the LORD told the mother of our
Savior, “behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.”
(Lu 1: 31)
Samuel’s Consecration
Judges 13: 4: Now therefore beware, I pray
thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his
head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb:
We see
Christ in Samson’s separation and consecration unto the LORD. Samson was a
Nazarite—meaning he was separated by the LORD, holy, consecrated for God’s
service all his life.
Likewise,
Christ Jesus is that “holy thing”, that “holy one” conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Raised in Nazareth, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Mt 2: 23) or a “Nazarite.” So Christ
always did those things which pleased the Father.
A
Nazarite was required by law to never cut his hair. Why? Long
hair was a thing despised of men in the scriptures. It was a symbol of consecration
to God. Consecration to God, required that
Sampson willingly appear before men in a way that other people would despise.
Be sure to get this: Sampson’s long hair was only a symbol—a symbol of his
complete surrender to God and separation from this world. Like our Savior in his Manhood, it was
Sampson’s consecration to God that was his strength, not his hair itself.
So it
is with you and I who believe. We have been chosen, separated and made holy by
God. Therefore, we appear before this world in a way which makes this world despise
us, which separates us from the rest of this world—that way is Christ Jesus
himself. Our strength is, not in anything about us physically, but our strength
is Christ to whom we are separated and consecrated in spirit and in truth.
Phillippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.
Samson’s Mission
Judges 13: 4…and he shall begin to deliver
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Then we
see a type of Christ in Samsons mission. Samson would deliver his people,
Israel, from the hand of the enemy. Likewise, of Christ, it was foretold,
Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Christ
Jesus was given this people of God before the foundation of the world. As Sampson was sent of God to deliver Israel
from the Philistines so Christ was sent of God to deliver his people from all
our enemies. He has, he is and he shall—“he shall save his people from their
sins.” And so we read of Samson.
Judges 13: 24: And the woman bare a son, and
called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
Likewise
of Christ we read:
Luke 2:52: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and
in favour with God and man.
So Samson—whose
name means sunlight—was born and shined upon that dark day. A type of Christ’s birth—the sun of
righteousness who arose in this dark world with healing in his wings. (Mal 4:
2)
II. SECONDLY, WE BEHOLD CHRIST IN TYPE IN THE
ACTS OF SAMSON’S LIFE
His Marriage
First, we
see a picture of Christ in Samson’s marriage to a Philistine woman.
Judges 14: 1: Samson went down to
Timnah…
Timnah
means a place assigned unto. Christ came down to this place assigned unto him by
the Father before the foundation of the world
Judges 14: 1:...and [Sampson] saw a
woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
“Woman”
means adultress. Further, this woman was of the daughters of Sampson’s enemies,
further she was an uncircumcised Gentile woman. In fact, in Judges 16:
1…Sampson went in unto a harlot. Then later, he “loved a woman named Deliah”—a
well-known harlot. (Judges 16: 4)
Note: As for
Samson, this was great sin. To marry a Gentile, an adultress, or to go in unto
harlots was all against the law of God. No excuse on Samson’s part. But
scripture says, his taking this Philistine woman, was of the Lord—Judges 14: 4: But his father and his mother
knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the
Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
What a
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ! It is of God the Father that Christ’s bride,
chosen of God the Father, the bride Christ loves, is made up of sinners: adultresses,
harlots, publicans, enemies in our minds by wicked works as was Samson’s
wife. Christ did not come to call tthe
self-righteous religious folks who call themselves God’s people. They are
represented in those Samsons parents wanted Samson to consider but that Samson
passed by. They said, Judges 14: 3: Is there never a woman among
the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take
a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get
her for me; for she pleaseth me well. No, Christ’s people are sinners,
Mark 2: 16: And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him
eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he
eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17: When Jesus heard it,
he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they
that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Sinner,
do you see you are sick? You are not
whole! You need the physician. Do you see it! Here is the good news: Christ came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!
Defeat of the Lion
Then we
see Christ in Sampsons defeat of the strong lion.
Judges 14: 5: Then went Samson down, and his
father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and,
behold, a young lion roared against him.
Samson
was going to get this woman for his bride when this lion came roaring against
him. The lion pictures the devil—
1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
When
Christ came down to get his bride, Satan roared against him: in the wilderness,
throughout his life, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross. The Spirit of the LORD was upon Christ
mightly as it was Samson.
Judges 14: 6: And the Spirit of the LORD came
mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had
nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Christ
rent Satan as if Satan had no power at all. Christ had nothing in his hand—the
word of God—thus saith the LORD. In the midst of Satan’s temptations, Christ,
as a Man, as the righteous servant of Jehovah, as the righteousness of his
people, trusted his care to the word of the LORD who was able to save him from
death.
Sinner,
the only way you and I can defeat Satan is by casting all our care upon Christ.
1 Peter 5: 6: Humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7: Casting all your care
upon him; for he careth for you. 8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour: 9: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
III. THIRDLY, WE SEE CHRIST IN SAMSONS DEATH—
We see
Christ in how Samson was rejected, bound of of his own brethren, so that he won
the victory over his enemies all alone.
Judges 15: 10: [when the enemy came]
And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To
bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11: Then three
thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson,
Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that
thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I
done unto them. 12: And [the men of Judah] said unto [Sampson], We are come
down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines.
And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me
yourselves. 13: And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee
fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And
they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
Christ’s
own nation came against him: betrayed him, bound him, beat him, turned him over
to the enemy. They were both sold for money under pretence of love. (Deliah
betrayed Samson for money; Judas betrayed Christ). Both were apprehended by their enemies, both were led away
bound, blinded, (Christ was blindfolded), fastened to a post and scorned.
Isaiah 63:3: I have trodden the winepress alone; and of
the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and
trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments,
and I will stain all my raiment.
Voluntary Death
Sampson
and Christ’s death were both voluntary. While Samson’s enemies celebrated,
praising their vain God, Samson destroyed them by pulling down the pillars of
their house upon them and upon himself.
Judges 16: 25: And it came to pass, when
their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us
sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them
sport: and they set him between the pillars. 26: And Samson said unto the lad
that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the
house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27: Now the house was full of men
and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there
were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport. 28: And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O
God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29: And
Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on
which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with
his left. 30: And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed
himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon
all the people that were therein.
So Christ,
said, “No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (Jn 10: 18) While his enemies praised their vain God, thinking
surely they had defeated Christ, Christ pulled their whole house down on them
by his death.
Victorious Death
Both
Samson and Christ were victorious in their deaths.
Judges 16: 30:…So the dead which he slew at
his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
So Christ,
by his death, gave the most deadly blow to Satan's Kingdom
Colossian 2:15: And having spoiled principalities and
powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Our
Redeemer was victorious. He defeated Satan. By himself Christ purged our sins.
He obtained eternal redemption for us. Christ fulfilled the law for us making
us the righteousness of God in him. He declared God just and the justifier. The
last enemy to be destroyed is death and of that victory we read,
“Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory by our Lord
Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15: 57)
V. LASTLY, WE SEE IN SAMPSON WHAT CHRIST IS
NOW DOING THAT SATAN IS DEFEATED AND HIS CROSS WORK IS ACCOMPLISHED.
Calling the Bride
Judges 14: 7: And he went down, and talked
with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
After
Samson defeated the lion, he went after his bride. Christ has bound the strong
man that he might “spoil his goods.” Christ has bound Satan so that through the
preaching of the gospel, Christ “might deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Now he sends forth his gospel—wooing his bride—each individual redeemed
child. Christ’s bride pleases Christ well—because she is redeemed by his blood.
She must be called out
The Gospel
Notice
this strange thing that happened after Samson destroyed the lion.
Judges 14: 8: And after a time he returned to
take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold,
there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 9: And he took
thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother,
and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the
honey out of the carcase of the lion.
Out of
the devils destruction, with justice satisfied for his elect, comes the sweet
tidings of the gospel, sweet as honey. And by Christ’s effectual work in our
hearts, it brings forth his elect out of death, like swarms of bees.
The Riddle
But
Sampson spoke this in a riddle, so that some never understood the meaning.
Judges 14: 12: And Samson said unto them, I
will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within
the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty
sheets and thirty change of garments: 13: But if ye cannot declare it me, then
shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said
unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14: And he said unto them,
Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.
And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
So
Christ speaks the gospel in riddles—parables—to those who are blind,
self-righteous Pharisees.
Matthew 13: 10: And the disciples came, and said unto
him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11: He answered and said unto
them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it is not given.
But
Christ reveals the gospel riddle to his bride.
Judges 14: 17: And she wept before him the
seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day,
that he told her, because she lay sore upon him:
He
robes us in fine linen of his righteousness through faith
The Burning Gospel
Judges 15: 4: And Samson went and caught
three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a
firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5: And when he had set the brands on
fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up
both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
Also,
after defeating the lion, when the Philistines stood in the way of him having
his bride, Samson burned up their fields. By this gospel, Christ is destroying
his enemies, burning up the fruit of all his enemies.
The Foolishness of the Gospel
Judges 15: 14..the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon
him,…15: And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took
it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16: And Samson said, With the jawbone of
an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Samson
slew his enemies with a strange and foolish means. So Christ, by the
“foolishness of preaching,” through the power of his Spirit, subdues and
overcomes men unto himself, and slays the enmity.
Gates of Hell
Judges 16:3: And Samson lay till midnight,
and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two
posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders,
and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
As
Samson did, Christ carries away the gates of our enemies, bars and all. He
promised his church,
Matthew 16:18…the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it.
Amen!